The Theme of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." The second half of this opening sentence of the novel reveals that the "universal truth" is nothing more than a social truth. When claiming that a single man "must be in want of a wife", Jane Austen reveals that the reverse in also true; a single woman is in, perhaps desperate, want of a husband.
In nineteenth century Britain, what people did and their behaviour was very much governed by the social class they were born into. Class distinction in Jane Austen's time was in fact very rigid. The land-owning aristocracy belonged to the highest rank of the social ladder. The class immediately below them was the gentry who had inherited their fortunes, usually in the form of land. Though the gentry may have been associated with the aristocracy, they were definitely inferior.
Young women of Austen's time had limited socially prescribed options open to them regarding their future. The importance of marriage for a young woman and her family in the nineteenth century may be difficult for modern readers to understand. Although the daughters of the middle and upper class could be sent to school, their education consisted more of becoming accomplished. Society could not conceive of a woman entering a profession such as medicine or law and therefore did not offer her a chance to do so. Because of the extremely limited options a woman had in order to earn a living, marriage was essential for financial and social well-being. Therefore, if a woman remained unmarried for the rest of her life, she would remain dependent on her relatives, living with or receiving a small income from her father, brothers or any other relative that could afford to support her.
The central theme of the novel concerns itself with marriage, as indicated in the ironic opening line of the book. Throughout the novel, it is not the man seeking the wife but more so Mrs. Bennet seeking
In nineteenth century Britain, what people did and their behaviour was very much governed by the social class they were born into. Class distinction in Jane Austen's time was in fact very rigid. The land-owning aristocracy belonged to the highest rank of the social ladder. The class immediately below them was the gentry who had inherited their fortunes, usually in the form of land. Though the gentry may have been associated with the aristocracy, they were definitely inferior.
Young women of Austen's time had limited socially prescribed options open to them regarding their future. The importance of marriage for a young woman and her family in the nineteenth century may be difficult for modern readers to understand. Although the daughters of the middle and upper class could be sent to school, their education consisted more of becoming accomplished. Society could not conceive of a woman entering a profession such as medicine or law and therefore did not offer her a chance to do so. Because of the extremely limited options a woman had in order to earn a living, marriage was essential for financial and social well-being. Therefore, if a woman remained unmarried for the rest of her life, she would remain dependent on her relatives, living with or receiving a small income from her father, brothers or any other relative that could afford to support her.
The central theme of the novel concerns itself with marriage, as indicated in the ironic opening line of the book. Throughout the novel, it is not the man seeking the wife but more so Mrs. Bennet seeking